Biography
Norman Akers was born in Fairfax, Oklahoma and is a citizen of the Osage Nation. In 1982, Akers received his BFA in Painting from the Kansas City Art Institute. The next year Akers received a certificate in Museum studies from the Institute of American Arts. In 1991, Akers received an MFA from the University of Illinois.Artistic process
Akers's artwork is inspired by his background as a Native American and what it means culturally to be an Indian. He has stated that he interprets his art as a form of cultural expression that tie to his views politically and historically, while maintaining a contemporary form. The art often includes references to multiple perspectives or interpretations and how these ideas are used to identify spiritual places. Akers has specified that there is no certain physical place or destination, as it represents the spiritual origin these images bring him and relate to him culturally. Akers will use maps in his work, which he has described as an expression for spiritual connection to physical places he has yet discovered. His work also takes inspiration from current mainstream ideas of "immigrants" and what it means to be "illegal" in the present day world and his desire to question these ideas.Exhibitions
Group exhibitions
* ''Stories From the Land'', Mingenback Gallery and the Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery, in Lindsborg, Kansas (February 11, 2019 – March 15, 2019) * ''Revisions: Contemporary Native American Art'', Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame,Solo exhibitions
* Norman Akers: Printed Borders, Phoenix Gallery Underground, Lawrence, KS (2019) * Norman Akers: Contested Territories, Percolator Art Space, Lawrence, KS (2015) * Survey, Mingenback Art Gallery, Bethany College, Lindsborg, KS (2013)Permanent collections
* Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL * Library of Congress, Print Collection, Washington DC * Arrowhead Stadium Art Collection, Kansas City, MO * Armenia Eiteljorg Museum of American and Western Art, Indianapolis, IN * Fine Arts Center, Eastern Wyoming College, Torrington, WY * Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO *Further reading
* Silvka, Kevin, “Re , Centering Indigenous arts in art education: Decolonizing identity politics, censorship, and home”, Journal of Cultural Research in Art Education, (Vol. 36 No 3 (2019) * Lindberg, Melissa. "Poet Laureate Joy Harjo Visits the Print & Photographs Reading Room" image. Washington, DC. Library of Congress. (August 30, 2019) Website/Blog * Hearn, David, “At the Nerman: Voices and Visions from the “Path of the Butterfly”, pg. 72 - 75, KC Studio, Kansas City, MO, (May/June Vol. XI, issue 3) * Frese, David. “American Indian Artists Reflect on Identity in New Exhibit”, pg. 26 - 27, KC Studio, Kansas City, MO (November/December 2018 Vol. X, issue 6) * Besaw, Mindy, Hopkins, Candice, Well-Off-Man, Manuela “Art for a New Understanding Native Voices 1950s to Now”, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, pg. 21, 136-137, University of Arkansas Press (2018) * Earenfight, Phillip. “Re-Riding History: From the Southern Plains to the Matanzas Bay” pg. 23, 51, Carlisle, PA, The Trout Gallery, The Art Museum of Dickinson College. (2018) * Brandenburg, John. "Artists Interpret Borders", The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City, OK. * Heath, Jennifer. “Imaginary Maps: Expeditions to Uncover Apocryphal Unsubstantiated and Forbidden Places”, pg. 4-5, Baksun books &art, Boulder, CO. (2018) * Powell, Jami C. "Creating an Osage Future: Art, Resistance, and Self Representation", pg. 53, 64-66, 71-73, 131-132, 258-265, University of North Carolina. (2018) * Ahtone, Heather P. "Cultural Paradigms of Contemporary Indigenous Art: As Found in the Work of Shan Goshorn, Norman Akers, Marie Watt, and Joe Feddersen", pg. 69, 102-143, 233, 238- 239, University of Oklahoma. (2018)See also
* Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the AmericasReferences
External links